Thailand Re-arrests German HIV-Infector

A one-legged German at the centre of an HIV scare involving hundreds of Thai women and girls was arrested and set to be deported for a second time in 10 days, police said Thursday. Hans-Otto Schiemann, 54, who claims to be infected with HIV and had unprotected sex with hundreds of Thais, was arrested Wednesday in Chaiyaphum province, three days after re-entering the country through Thailand's main international airport despite being blacklisted. He is under detention at immigration in Bangkok awaiting deportation," Chaiyaphum police Lieutenant Colonel Kampol Nonuch told AFP. "He cannot be in Thailand, as he was listed as persona non grata." Kampol said Schiemann, a army veteran, was deported from Thailand March 14 for overstaying his 30-day visa. He was blacklisted Friday March 18, but his name was not put into the immigration office's computer until March 21, one day after Schiemann re-entered the kingdom. Police hoped Schiemann would now be permanently barred from entering the country, but a deportation date had yet to be set. The officials said the scale of the problem was not clear, with many women reluctant to come forward for an Aids test, but said Schiemann could have had sex with up to 400 women and teenage girls. Thailand has no law allowing action against people who knowingly infect someone with HIV. Schiemann refused to take a blood test since being picked up by the authorities in early October. While in custody, he told AFP in Chaiyaphum that he had contracted HIV three years ago and was "like heroin to girls."